This month I chose the topic of resilience because of its relevance to Pivotal Changes' mission of coaching into action individuals for whom "the status quo is not an option".  With this newsletter, I share some of the details and outcome of meetings with professionals who sought help in their career transition after a layoff. The meetings revolved around the topic of personal strengths in general and the subject of resilience in particular. 

 

When I broached the topic of resilience, the engineers in the group immediately recanted the definition of resilience, which focuses on the ability of a material to retain its original shape under different stresses. However, for the purpose of our discussions, we worked with a more personal definition: "an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change".

 

With this as our guide, we agreed that our goal would be to improve resilience.  I encouraged the group to contribute comments, success stories, and action items.

 

Those who displayed the greatest resilience indicated a wide range of goals and interests. On the other hand, those who had challenge with resilience had primarily work-related goals, and stated that they had greater difficulty adjusting to and/or dealing with problems as they arose. The former group shared that during challenging times of transition, they:

 

• Stay grounded by:
  • maintaining an active lifestyle and exercising regularly
  • engaging in relaxing activities
  • engaging in fulfilling activities  
  • some maintaining an active spiritual life
• Commit to meaningful, measurable and attainable goals, which:
  • motivate them
  • allow them to make progress
  • instill a feeling that they are contributing
  • encourage relationships and network building 
  • promote positive emotions
• Focus on problem-solving: taking action steps from the start, even if an ultimate outcome cannot be envisioned,
• Keep a realistic sense of control: everything under control without being overly controlled
• Engage with supportive people: viewing the challenges with new eyes, they realize that problems come and go

Through this process, the clients succeeded in mitigating the tendency to flounder in moments of adversity and in building the skills to persevere and succeed in challenging environments.

 

In conclusion, my suggestion to my readers is to consider the above items and:

 

• Place your devotion with your personal and professional goals, not your employer
• Contribute to your family, friends, and community
• Volunteer
• Chose meaningful goals
• Focus on spirituality, if so desired
• Start reasonably
• Start now

If you are ready to get started or know of someone who is, and would like more information about working with me as your coach, please visit www.pivotalchanges.com , and fill out the information form in the Contact Us section. I will promptly get back to you with information about rates and logistics.